counter supports

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One of the boss' friends had a very nice cherry counter instaled a little while ago. Paid good amount for it. Now it's starting to warp, so he asked my boss if he could fab some nice looking supports. Boss told him if he wanted decorative work done that I was the man to talk to. Since the counter was cherry wood he wanted the supports to have cherries and cherry leaves. So heres what I came up with. I ordered the leaves and bark textured bar online. The cherries are ball bearings. I made three, but the one for the middle of the counter doesn't have all the little branches and leaves. I did the whole job with a 110v tig welder. I wasn't sure if it could handle the 7/8" bar, but it managed. The supports measure 24" tall by 18" long. I still have to paint them. Got some guilders paste for the leaves and cherries. Attached Images
Reply:thats nice work
Reply:I like that, neat design and one of a kind.  Where do you order metal trees?
Reply:I order the bar through king achitectural metals. There are other suppliers out there if you look around. An alternative if you have the time is to beat a round bar with a chipping hammer or chisel to give it a bark texture. I keep some of the pre-textured stuff on hand for when I'm in a hurry, but I like the look of hand textured bar more.  I also make some wine racks that look like vines holding the bottle. If I'm really looking to impress some one I'll cut the leaves by hand too, instead of ordering machine cut leaves.Basically if it's for profit, or a rush I use manufactured stuff. If it's for a friend or relative I hand make every thing.
Reply:Grimm 1,             Nice job, I'm sure the client will be very pleased with your skill and design, Just a thought, To my eye it would look a little more authentic if you shaped the main diagonal a little to replicate a living tree branch,  Merry Christmas and a Happy new year to all, Best regards Gordon.Lincoln SP-170 MigHypertherm powermax 45Lorch T220 AC/DC TigButters FM 215 synergic MigKemppi 180 adaptive mig RULES ARE FOR THE OBEDIENCE OF FOOLS AND THE  GUIDANCE OF WISE MEN.
Reply:I do love the overall look of this bracket. However, and I know ANYONE can be a Monday morning quarterback, I think I would use a wider, thinner profile flat bar instead of the angle. A section of 1/4" or 3/8" x 1 1/2" would provide plenty of rigidity with the great design work under it. If the fb is wider than the diagonal stock, it is easy to put the mounting holes to the side of the tree branch, this makes it easier to install. I think I will order some of that material to have on hand, I like the look of that part of the support.Just my  opinion, not from a book, just from the road.Howes Welding Inc.www.howesweldinginc.com
Reply:Originally Posted by Grimm1I order the bar through king achitectural metals. There are other suppliers out there if you look around. An alternative if you have the time is to beat a round bar with a chipping hammer or chisel to give it a bark texture. I keep some of the pre-textured stuff on hand for when I'm in a hurry, but I like the look of hand textured bar more.  I also make some wine racks that look like vines holding the bottle. If I'm really looking to impress some one I'll cut the leaves by hand too, instead of ordering machine cut leaves.Basically if it's for profit, or a rush I use manufactured stuff. If it's for a friend or relative I hand make every thing.
Reply:I keept the main diagonal strait because as I studied cherry branches befor doing this I noticed how strait the branches on a real tree are. I  thought about putting a slight bend in it. The trouble with making a natural ooking bend is that it has to be gradual, over the length of the entire branch. A bend here, and a bend there just doesn't look right. Putting a gradual bend in a 7/8" solid bar takes alot of heat. I just couldn't justify using that much gas on something that people probably wont even notice once it's under the counter. At least not for the price I'm doing this for.You're probably right tessdad. Hind sight is 20/20. I didn't really take into account how rigid the decorative portion would be. I probably should have used flat bar instead of angle. When the customer gave me the rundown of what he wanted, he mentioned angle iron so I just went with it. He's really conserned about the warpage of his counter, If nothing else the sight of the angle iron will put his mind at ease.
Reply:I'll make up a piece of the hand done bar and post it when I upload the finished painted pics of this project.
Reply:Ya, sometimes giving the customer just what he wanted is the best policy!  Just as showing some of them THE DOOR, is the right thing some of the time, (it doesn't happen often, but it did about a week ago, sometimes you just figure your own sanity is worth a bit more than playing nice with an idiot.Looking forward to the finished pictures!!!Just my  opinion, not from a book, just from the road.Howes Welding Inc.www.howesweldinginc.com